Sanctus


 * "We had originally intended Dante, to form the savior's core. Perhaps it would've been wise to adhere to that choice." — Sanctus

Sanctus is the leader of the Fortuna, the Vicar of Sparda, and a previous Supreme General of the Holy Knights. As the leader of Fortuna, he is behind all of the actions of the Order, and is the mastermind of their plot to conquer the world using the Savior. He is considered one of the greatest leaders of the Order, and has the total loyalty of the populace.

He is killed by Dante during the prologue to Devil May Cry 4, but is resurrected through the Ascension ceremony. Unlike the other ascended knights, he initially retains his original form after the ceremony, while gaining incredible demonic power. He is sometime shown to wear the armor of an Alto Angelo.

Sanctus originally planned to use Dante as the Savior's core, and had the Order take the Yamato and open the Hell Gates as a method of luring Dante to Fortuna. However, when Agnus reveals to the Order that Nero possesses demonic power, Sanctus orders him to kidnap Kyrie in order to lure Nero to the Savior and use him, instead. Though he is unable to convince Nero to be absorbed willingly, he is able to overpower him and absorb him anyway, in the process recovering the Yamato which Nero had taken. During the activation of the Savior he is also attacked by Credo, who considers Sanctus's exploitation of Kyrie to be a betrayal, but Sanctus murders him.

After Dante recovers the Yamato and destroys the true Hell Gate, he is confronted by Sanctus in Alto Angelo form. He destroys this demon, revealing it to be nothing more than an empty puppet, and proceeds to attack the Savior to get at the real Sanctus, who is his inside. While not able to enter himself, he is able to weaken the statue enough for Nero to escape, and returns the Yamato to him. Nero proceeds through the statue to the Sacred Heart, where he encounters Sanctus in his fully ascended form.

Sanctus is voiced by Liam O'Brien.

Sanctus Diabolica
Sanctus Diabolica is the fully Ascended form of Sanctus. He is encountered by Nero within the Savior's Sacred Heart, during Mission 20: La Vita Nuova. In this form he is able to resonate with the Sparda he wields, amplifying his power and warping his form into a hellish visage: horn-like appendages which sprout fiery wings, a jewel on his forehead resembling the Savior's, and the halo-like horns of Ascended demons. In this form, he possesses

After defeating this form of Sanctus, Nero is able to rescue Kyrie, and they escape from the Savior. As they return to town, the Savior reawakens as the False Savior by merging with Sanctus's remains, and taking on his face. However, it is much weaker than it was earlier, and Nero is able to easily overpower it using his Devil Bringer. As it tries to rise back up, Nero takes its face in his Devil Bringer, and crushes it.